The Legend of Zelda: Dark Warrior
by hylian90
Summary: What if one of the Heroes chosen by destiny were not a hero in the usual sense? This story throws off many of the traditional Zelda elements, but retains its core: Link must make the choice to be Hyrule's savior. But will he?
1. Prologue

P R O L O G U E

A cold wind swept across the twilit plains of Hyrule, as Collin sat on the roof of his house watching the sunset. The son of Kakariko Village's chief, Collin made it his nightly ritual to sit on his roof and watch over the land. He couldn't see much over the cliffs that bounded Kakariko on two sides, and lately the smoke from nearby Death Mountain had been obscuring his view.

Normally the ten-year-old didn't watch for anything in particular, but on this particular night there was much to watch. Not long ago, the entire village had been on the roof with Collin, watching a band of raiders who appeared to be approaching Kakariko. Thankfully, they had changed direction while crossing the gorge.

Now Collin watched the group, shrouded in shadow against the last of the day's light as they rode farther into the sunset. Once they were out of sight, Collin turned his attention to the small, golden pendant around his neck. He was fond of the way the last few rays of sun made the gold shine in a brilliant, almost surreal way.

"It's getting cold," came a voice from behind him. Collin turned to see his brother Tal standing in front of the door. Though Tal was seven years older than Collin, the two of them looked remarkably similar; both shared the same brown hair and deep hazel eyes. The similarities stopped there, however. Collin shared absolutely none of his brother's interest in swordplay. Tal had been training with Rath, an elderly swordsman who had served in the Royal Army during the war. Tal planned to join the Imperial Guard when his training was complete.

"You shouldn't be out at night this time of year, especially not with those outlaws running around."

"Do you really think they'll come here, Tal?"

"I don't know. Ever since the Imperial Guard stopped them from raiding Castle Town, they've been focused on getting in there. Word is they're getting closer with every attempt. Their leader is smart, and ruthless. If they do get into Castle Town, no one knows where they'll go next. Now come in before you get sick."

Despite his rough demeanor, there was no denying that Tal cared about his little brother. Collin could recall multiple occasions where his brother had protected him from older bullies. He had never seen Tal appear scared before, but Collin could hear a small bit of worry in Tal's voice whenever he discussed the raiders, particularly their leader.

It was not as though there was no reason for concern. Stories were rampant about the leader of the bandits, all painting him as a cunning warrior. One of the common stories was that he had bested three of Hyrule's strongest knights in single combat. His history was mysterious, though a popular theory was that he was the last descendant of a race of desert thieves. Some historians linked him to ancient myths of a dark wizard who had tried to destroy Hyrule in ancient times. There was, however, one thing that everyone agreed on: he was a very dangerous man.

As Collin reentered his house and crawled into his bed, he could not shake the image he'd created of this terrible swordsman. His eyes grew heavier and heavier, but once they slid shut, the silhouette of a large man on an imposing black horse brandishing a blade remained. That was when Collin knew this would not be a restful night.


	2. Chapter 1

**C H A P T E R 1**

Collin awoke early the next morning to the sound of distant hoof beats ringing in the canyon. He groggily opened his eyes and looked over at his brother's bed.

"Tal? It sounds like there's someone in the village. Do you know who it is?" Visitors in Kakariko were uncommon, and Collin was always intrigued when someone new arrived. Unfortunately, Tal wasn't answering any of his inquiries. "...Tal?"

As Collin's eyes slowly focused, he was able to see that his brother's bed was empty. A wave of panic overtook him as he also noticed that the iron sword Tal always kept under his bed was missing.

"Tal?! Tal, where are you?" he cried out, now quite frightened. The hoof beats outside were growing louder, and it was quite clear now that there was more than one horse approaching. Collin rushed outside the house, desperately looking for anyone who knew what was going on. The echo of the cliffs now made the hoof beats sound like cannon fire, and Collin was soon convinced that the entire Hylian army was bearing down on him.

Thankfully, he spotted his brother heading up one of the trails up the canyon face with rest of the villagers. Collin screamed out at the top of his lungs for his brother, but he was drowned out by the hoof beats, which now sounded to be entering the canyon.

Collin continued to scream out for his brother, and finally Tal turned around to look. A feeling of relief washed over him, but quickly disappeared when he saw the expression on Tal's face. With a sense of impending doom, Collin turned around to see a large group of horses stampeding straight at him. For a moment, the sound of their hooves hammering the ground faded away, and all Collin could hear was Tal screaming at them to stop.

Partly out of instinct and partly out of fear, Collin crouched down and closed his eyes as the horses approached. There he sat, frozen in terror, as the riders thundered past him. Without warning, there was a violent tug on the back of his shirt, and Collin felt himself flying through the air. At first he thought he'd been struck by a hoof. Oddly though, Collin never hit the ground. He cautiously opened his eyes and found that he was being held by a powerful-looking man atop a brown horse.

The man hoisted Collin onto the saddle in front of him. Collin caught a glimpse of his brother, who seemed relieved. Collin slowly began to feel the same way; this stranger on the brown horse had probably saved him from being trampled to death. He was somewhat suspicious, due mostly to the scarf covering most of his face. But for now Collin was simply thankful to be alive.

Thankful, that is, until his mystery savior yanked on the reins, causing his steed to wheel about. Half of the approaching stallions came skidding to a stop about 20 feet away, while the other half rallied around the man. Collin looked at those who had stopped short, and a frightening realization crept into his mind. Their horses were adorned with the royal crest, along with their shields and weapons. There was no mistaking it: those men were the Hylian Guard.

But that would mean his captor was…

"Put the boy down," said one of the guards calmly.

"Now why would I do that?" sneered the man in response.

"What do you plan to do with just one hostage?"

Collin began to cry as his captor pressed a knife firmly against his neck.

"You know exactly what I'm capable of doing."

"Hyrule is only so big. Kill as many people as you please, we will catch you."

"But at what price?" The man drew his knife slowly across Collin's neck, drawing a few beads of dark red blood. "Do you really want this boy to die because of your choice?"

The guard didn't respond. Tension filled the air as all waited for the stalemate to resolve itself. The only sound that could be heard was Collin's stoic attempts to control his sobbing.

After what felt like an eternity, the lead soldier signaled to his men. Everyone in the valley breathed a sigh of relief as the guard marched out, but none more so than Collin. His kidnapper set him roughly back on the ground, then dismounted his horse. The rest of the riders followed behind him, making Collin quite certain he'd been held prisoner by the famed leader of the band of raiders.

At first Collin simply sat staring at the ground, trying to gain control of his nerves, but a savage cry from above drew his eyes up. From one of the nearby roofs came Tal, plunging down on the kidnapper with sword in hand. The raider deftly leapt to the side as Tal hit the ground, unleashing his own sword from its sheath on his back. With another visceral shout, Tal brought his sword crashing down to meet his opponent's.

"You're making a mistake," Collin heard the man say to Tal.

"You're an outlaw, and you tried to kill my brother. I'm just returning the-"

Before Tal could finish his threat, the bandit had disarmed him and thrown him to the ground. It was a single motion, performed so quickly that Collin wasn't even sure what exactly he'd done. And just as quickly, the bandit pulled his arm back to deliver the killing blow.

"No!" cried Collin, averting his eyes as the blade plunged downward. He waited anxiously for Tal to cry out in pain…but such a cry never came. Collin looked up cautiously and saw the sword stuck firmly in the ground, mere inches from Tal's neck. Collin's gaze met the man's for a moment. He silently rose from his position over Tal, removing his head covering as he did so.

"Where are the rest of your people?" he asked Collin, who feebly pointed to the other end of the village. The residents had descended the cliff face and were now skittishly approaching the bandits.

His face hidden no longer, Collin could see that the leader of the raiders was nothing like he had imagined. He couldn't have been much older than Tal, perhaps 20 years old at most. His long golden hair and lake-blue eyes gave him an almost gentle appearance. He had a slim but muscular build, and appeared to be of average height. The only intimidating thing about him was his black cloak…and that he had held a young child hostage and almost killed Tal.

"One of my men is injured," the bandit called to Collin's father, "So we'll be staying at your inn until he is ready to travel."

"I don't suppose we have any choice in the matter…" the chief sighed.

"I'm glad you understand," the bandit said, smiling. He then reached down and grabbed Collin by his shirt, yanking him to his feet. "And just in case, the boy will be staying with us. He won't be harmed, unless one of you decides to do something stupid."

"Leave him alone!" shouted Tal, once again rushing to attack. The bandit simply grabbed him by the neck and hurled him against the nearest building, with force enough to leave Tal crumpled on the ground.

"That would be something stupid," then turning to Tal, "That is twice I've stayed my hand. You're testing my limits." And with that he turned and pulled Collin towards the inn, the rest of his raiders in tow.

"So can I know your name?" Collin asked timidly.

"…Link. My name is Link."

Once the group was out of sight, everyone in the canyon dispersed to their various tasks for the day.

Including the two figures in the shadows who had been watching the morning's events, unbeknownst to the villagers, the raiders, and each other.


End file.
